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The case discusses how Pepperfry, India's largest online furniture retailer, disrupted the furniture and home decor market while overcoming the challenges of India's weak infrastructure, age-old methods of buying and selling furniture from local carpentry shops, lack of consumer trust in e-commerce and a massive geography. By 2018 Pepperfry had grown exponentially to control over 60% of the online furniture business in the country. However, several questions regarding its current and future trajectory remained. First, despite controlling costs and significantly expanding revenues, it was not profitable. What could it do to achieve profitability? Second, in response to the demands of the market, Pepperfry embarked on an omnichannel strategy, establishing 34 studios in Tier 1 cities with targeted expansion to 70 studios by 2019. How could it manage this added online-offline complexity, while still staying on track to break even? Finally, the competitive space had significantly heated up, with the arrival of IKEA (September 2018), and with Flipkart's (acquired by Walmart) growing focus on the furniture segment. Did Pepperfry have the systems, brand name and agility to respond to these challenges? Or will the disruptor be disrupted?

DHAN was a non-government organization with a difference. It was neither a philanthropic organization nor a service organization but a development organization focused on grassroots development aided by professional management. At the same time, it had a clear vision of being only an enabling institution rather than a directing agency. Dedicated to the mission of poverty eradication through grassroots development action, DHAN had made a significant impact on the Indian scene in the years since its inception in 1997. By 2017, it had touched the lives of 1.5 million households and was poised to reach out to another one million households over the next five years. In its mission to combat poverty, DHAN initially employed two major thematic interventions, namely, community banking and water management. However, over a period of time, it forayed into several other domains such as healthcare, education and livelihood generation in response to the dynamic requirements of its community of beneficiaries, specifically, the marginalized and the poorest of the poor in India. This case explores the theme of sustainable livelihoods and how interventions in this sphere need to be viewed and managed in an integrated manner with a conscious focus on the conservation of the larger ecosystem in which they are embedded. The case describes DHAN's various initiatives and interventions in the sustainable livelihoods arena, the challenges it encountered along the way and its innovative responses to those challenges.

This case highlights the differences in the business models of Amazon and Alibaba, respectively. Readers need to analyze the characteristics of India with respect to culture, wealth and income distribution, demographics, economy, infrastructure, digital potential, diversity, and foreign direct investment policy. Based on their assessment, they need to decide which company represents the better strategic fit for success in India. Theoretical models illustrated are Hambrick's strategy diamond, SWOT analysis, customer segmentation, concept of clockspeed by Charles H. Fine (double helix model), and principles of platform business models.

In 2017, the humble jackfruit, which grew in weed-like abundance in India, gained sudden prominence in the United States. The underutilized jackfruit crop was also gaining recognition globally for its role in addressing food security issues. An entrepreneur who had pioneered methods of jackfruit processing at Artocarpus Foods Private Limited in his native state of Kerala, India, had faced many entrepreneurial challenges in establishing Hebon, his brand of processed jackfruit products. Now he was considering whether to pursue the opportunity to exploit the overseas market or to continue focusing on domestic expansion.

Cabalonga S. A. (Cabalonga) was a unique, low-cost hostel located in the small seaside town of Puerto Cayo, Ecuador. The beachfront land on which Cabalonga was established had been inherited by one of the two proprietors. In 2017, the company did little better than break even, but the hostel did provide the occasional weekend getaway for its owners. However, the weekend getaways had actually become hectic cross-country commutes for the owners, and too many hours were spent attending to guests' needs. While the enterprise was financially stable, the owners wanted it to be a self-sustaining and less time-intensive investment.

In August 2017, AMC Networks Inc. (AMCN), a New York City-based cable television provider, faced a lawsuit from the creative talent behind the hit show The Walking Dead. The lawsuit charged that AMCN used its vertical integration into content development to reduce the profits available for distribution to participants. For AMCN, which was originally a content distributor, expanding into content creation through its AMC Studios had several benefits. However, the industry was changing with the advent of online streaming services such as Netflix Inc., Hulu, and Amazon Prime, as well as an industry-wide shift among cable networks to offer proprietary content. These changes had an impact on the relationship between the business and the creative side of the industry. AMCN's chief executive officer had to decide how to respond to the lawsuit.

In December 2017, the corporate vice-president of Microsoft Corporation's Devices division was considering two options to chart a strategic course for the next few years. Since first joining Microsoft Corporation in 2004, one of the vice-president's key roles had been to oversee the strategic direction of the personal computing hardware business. The company, which was headquartered in Washington State in the United States, had a multitude of products and services that presented both opportunities and challenges for its future. Microsoft Corporation had to decide between two project options that represented growth in different business areas in Asia Pacific. The first option was to launch new products from the company's Surface division in the Asia Pacific market. This could be Microsoft Corporation's opportunity to showcase its holistic devices ecosystem to prospective customers in the region. The second option was to intensify efforts to market and sell the firm's cloud solutions. This could further differentiate Microsoft Corporation as an early mover enabling enterprises to migrate to the cloud.

Companies seeking to lead organic growth in their industry should start with a coherent, positive innovation narrative and reinforce it with action. Four innovation levers that organic growth leaders use to stay ahead of competitors are: (1) investing in innovation talent, (2) encouraging prudent risk-taking, (3) adopting a customer-centric innovation process, and (4) aligning metrics and recognition with innovation.

The biggest consumer goods companies shell out more than $1 billion a year for R&D but lately have seen no appreciable impact on their sales. That's troubling for companies whose growth has plateaued in recent years. In contrast, some smaller competitors that spend less on R&D - but do so more shrewdly - have seen a significant boost in sales. In this sector, innovators needn't bet big to reap returns.

This case study highlights the opportunities and economic, environmental, and social value generated by one of the nation's largest college dining operations, the University of Michigan's MDining. The case describes the MDining leadership team and their holistic approach to implementing local and sustainable food sourcing initiatives. The team's challenges in implementing an aspirational local sourcing program and gaps in the ecosystem encourage students to discuss potential solutions. The case covers the important role a university can play in improving food sustainability on campus, especially through student clubs, projects, and employment and research opportunities. More broadly, the case highlights challenges that large institutions can face in implementing local sourcing and what role institutions can play in ensuring sustainable food services procurement.

The Universidad Privada Boliviana (UPB), the Private University of Bolivia, was founded in 1993. Not long after, in the late 1990s, civil unrest erupted with coca growers battling police in the streets outside the campus. Students and faculty fled, the prior President retired, and the University was functionally insolvent. Manuel Olave was hired as Rector (President) in 1999 to salvage the struggling school. Charged with turning around the struggling university, Olave realized that head-on competition would not help UPB thrive. Instead of benchmarking against leading universities, Olave formed a team to explore growth opportunities, using blue ocean methodologies like the Buyer Utility Map, Strategy Canvas, and Eliminate-Reduce-Raise-Create (ERRC) Grid. Based on insights from the blue ocean shift process, UPB made a series of strategic moves to capture untapped demand for higher education that was more affordable and of higher value for students. Two decades later, UPB is ranked the best private university in Bolivia, enrollment is at capacity, and the school is planning a third campus. The case comes with a first-hand video interview with Manuel Olave describing his blue ocean shift. The video can be downloaded for teaching purposes from https://www.blueoceanstrategy.com/teaching-materials/upb/ Also available in Spanish and Portuguese.

As a strategist, you must understand and calibrate the environment in which your organization operates. How generous or challenging is the environment? What forces drive the munificence or sparseness of your environment? How are those forces changing, and what is their likely impact on your organization? Is this change slow or fast? Can you influence or mold those forces in ways that benefit your organization? This module note, Market Attractiveness, helps you address these questions. It offers a framework to understand the forces that influence the environment in which your enterprise operates, evaluate the attractiveness of the environment, plan how best to respond to these forces, and contemplate how your enterprise can shape the environment favorably.

Konica Minolta Business Solutions (HK) Ltd. was likely the first multinational corporation in Hong Kong to put the ideas of corporate social enterprising into practice. Its new service business that was launched in 2014 (the i-Transform Station) employed so-called "hidden youths"-disadvantaged individuals who refrained from joining mainstream society-empowering them to reconnect with society. While the initiative drew the attention of the company's headquarters in Japan, the company experienced difficulties attracting enough hidden youths for its growing i-Transform Station, despite actively seeking the help of social workers in identifying potential employees. The managing director who initiated the program wanted to increase the engagement of hidden youth and, more importantly, to inject the ideas of social enterprise and the creation of shared value into Hong Kong society. In 2018, having received some suggestions from social workers and others, the managing director reflected on alternative options for the program's future.

The owner of Inverroche Distillery established a viable business incorporating fynbos, the unique flora growing around the remote community of Still Bay, South Africa, into her premium gins. She grew Inverroche Distillery into the dominant brand in the artisanal gin segment of the South African gin market and beyond. In 2018, she was facing key decisions about taking her business forward. Should she grow Inverroche Distillery by actively focusing on expanding her business internationally, or should she instead focus on growth in the domestic market? If she decided to go global, was the US market the best choice for expanding her business? If she were to enter the US market, what mode of entry would be most appropriate, taking Inverroche's firm-specific resources into account?

Kapap Academy Pte. Ltd. (Kapap Academy) was established in 2007, following the tragic death of the founder's older brother, with a mission to empower everyday people to learn realistic self-defence skills. The founder and his apprentice-turned-business partner formulated a simple yet functional brand of self-defence, which they named the Modern Street Combatives method. Kapap Academy's social mission was evident in its provision of both heavily discounted and completely free training sessions for needy and vulnerable segments of society-in particular, women who were victims of domestic abuse and sexual assault, as well as the elderly. Kapap Academy was able to sustain this social mission with a dual income stream. After its 10th-year anniversary, Kapap Academy was looking to export its brand of Modern Street Combatives overseas. This posed various challenges; in particular, whether to adopt a licensing model or a franchise arrangement. Each model had its pros and cons, but a decision had to be made.

The recent wave of retail bankruptcies as well as poor sales performance has resulted in a large number of store closings. Low sales in store-based retailers can also be attributed to the rapid growth of web-based retailers (largely, Amazon) as well as an excess of store space per capita in the U.S. as compared to other developed nations. Strategies to stem the decline of retail stores include: (1) utilizing omnichannel-based synergies among channels and devices to increase store sales; (2) making stores more attractive and engaging through personalization, interactivity, and a constantly changing environment; and (3) improving productivity through introducing small-size store formats and downsizing existing stores.

In January 2017, the owner and founder of Storehouse Tea based in Cleveland, Ohio, was considering the company's next move. Storehouse Tea focused on providing organic, fair trade certified teas, and the founder was committed to operating her business in a way that would have a positive impact in the world by providing work to local refugees. However, she wondered how she could scale this impact. Among her options, she could introduce product extensions, pursue geographic expansion, target larger accounts, or hire additional employees. But which avenue for growth would best allow Storehouse Tea to further its core mission?

Cipla Limited was a pioneer in inhalation therapy in India, and was globally acclaimed for its range of inhalers for obstructive airway diseases such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. In 2014, the company wanted to take inhalation therapy to the masses, especially in the rural and semi-urban areas of the country. This required strengthening its reach at the general practitioner level (among primary care physicians) and extending optimal medical care to patients who were otherwise sub-optimally treated. The company proposed a further increase to the sales and marketing budget, but the head of Cipla Limited's respiratory division had a different viewpoint. He proposed establishing a lateral structure of doctors as knowledge experts to urge practitioners to adopt inhalation therapy, as he had done in a successful trial in Delhi. The company was looking forward to implementing this second option across the country, but there were various issues to resolve with such an unconventional approach, and challenges were anticipated in the plan's implementation and expansion.

Established in 2007, by early 2014 SoundCloud already boasted the second largest number of active music listeners among all streaming services and was recognized as the go-to platform for new artists. Yet, its founders Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss were questioning whether the firm should continue to focus on serving as a lab for emerging musical artists. They were wondering if the firm should instead enter the booming mainstream music-streaming market.